O'Leary's uncontested breakaway dunk with four minutes left capped a day that surpassed his previous high of 29 at the Chuck Dayton Holiday Tournament in December.

"That's all my teammates," O'Leary said. "They swung the ball a couple times, I worked on my footwork, got that reversal and it got me an open shot. I was feeling it today."

Indeed, O'Leary made it look easy.

[Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.com]

He overpowered Providence and 6-8 senior Ethan Petric in the post. The two played to basically a push in a previous meeting, Lemont's 49-42 win in November at the WJOL Thanksgiving Classic. Petric managed just two free throws Monday.

O'Leary, who hurt his ankle in July in AAU, has been on a tear of late, though.

"It's nice to see – I think he's confident and comfortable in his health," Lemont coach Rick Runaas said. "Once he catches it in space he knows he has a pretty good chance to score."

[Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.com]

O'Leary is a true post, and plays to that strength.

On Monday, he knew what to do once he had a defender on his hip. O'Leary was 15-for-18 from the floor, and made nine straight shots at one point. If it wasn't a jump hook or turnaround, it was a drop step and power move to the rim.

"Once I feel a guy behind me I think 'How am I going to score,'" O'Leary said. "If I feel a guy cheat to the left side I know it's time to hit them with an over the top left hand hook or drop step to the hoop."

Junior guard Jaxson Dian helped open things up for O'Leary.

[Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.com]

He knocked down two 3-pointers during Lemont's 16-4 start, and hit three for the game. Later, Dian showcased an expanded game, slickly dribbling behind his back and feeding Jerry Radomski on the break.

It left a smile on O'Leary's face.

"Jaxson spent his whole life being known as the kid who could only shoot," O'Leary said. "He spent all offseason working on everything from ballhandling to passing."

[Mark Busch - mbusch@shawmedia.com]

Providence (8-10) never did recover from its poor start.

Adam Taylor scored 13 points and Bobby Shurilla added seven for Providence (8-10), who dug an early 9-0 hole. They cut it to 22-16 by halftime, but never drew closer.

Lemont continues to hold its own, despite missing one of its best players.

Nate Ferguson, a 6-7 junior, has missed the Indians' last three games with a wrist injury, but they've won all three. Runaas hopes to have him back Friday for T.F. South.

"Nate's an incredible player, an incredible athlete. He frees me up," O'Leary said, "but guys are stepping up. Jaxson had a career high 23 against Eisenhower, Ben [Hinchley] is coming into his own, Tyler [Gray] is playing great. I'm excited to see what we can do when Nate gets back."